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Mariners Sign Trio Of Players To Minor League Deals

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The Mariners have signed utilityman Ty Kelly to a minor league deal, per an announcement from the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League (Twitter link). Kelly had signed with the Ducks in April but will now return to affiliated ball. He’s been assigned to Triple-A Tacoma.

Kelly, 32, announced his retirement from professional baseball in August 2019. He sat out the 2020 season but is making a comeback attempt after more than a year and a half away. Kelly’s MLB time to this point has been bookended by stints with the Mets in 2016 and 2018, although his most extensive playing time came with the 2017 Phillies. Altogether, he’s taken 188 plate appearances at the highest level, slashing .203/.288/.323. Kelly carries a much better .268/.368/.382 mark in parts of eight seasons at Triple-A and has experience all around the diamond.

The Mariners also signed southpaw Williams Jerez to a minors deal, per his transactions log at MLB.com. He’s also been assigned to Triple-A. Jerez tossed 25 1/3 innings across 29 major league relief appearances for the Angels, Giants and Pirates from 2018-19. He didn’t find much success at the MLB level, working to a 5.33 ERA/5.02 SIERA. Jerez has been better in Triple-A, where he’s tossed 123 2/3 frames of 4.15 ERA ball with solid strikeout and walk rates (27.1% and 8.9%, respectively).

Kelly and Jerez are joined on the Rainiers active roster by longtime big leaguer Héctor Santiago. The veteran lefty signed with Seattle earlier this month and has already made a pair of starts for Tacoma, working nine innings of four-run ball with a whopping 16 strikeouts and five walks. Santiago was a mainstay in big league rotations for much of the last decade, throwing 100-plus innings in five different seasons. He didn’t pitch last year after being released by the Tigers in July. Santiago offers an experienced depth option for a Seattle club relying on quite a few young arms at the major league level right now.

Pirates Announce 11 Non-Roster Invitations

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The Pirates have announced a slew of non-roster invitations to Spring Training, including some new signings. Former big leaguers Tom Koehler and Nik Turley have evidently inked new deals with the Pittsburgh organization after qualifying for minor-league free agency at the end of the 2019 season.

Koehler spent last year with the Bucs, making some strides in his effort to return from shoulder surgery but not fully turning the corner. The 33-year-old is now two full seasons removed from the majors. In 784 1/3 innings at the game’s highest level, he carries a 4.39 ERA. Koehler obviously showed enough for the club to think there’s still a shot at a rebound.

As for the left-handed Turley, he hasn’t recorded any professional stats at all in the past two seasons owing to suspension and injury. He briefly made it to the majors in 2017 with the Twins but was knocked around in 17 2/3 innings.

Among the other players now slated to participate in MLB camp are Montana DuRapau, Luis Escobar, and Williams Jerez. All three were outrighted in one fell swoop at the outset of the offseason. Having cleared waivers, they remained with the Pittsburgh organization. The same occurred a few weeks earlier for James Marvel, who also gets an invite after debuting last year with the Bucs. Also receiving camp invitations are minor-leaguer catchers Christian Kelley and Jason Delay, hurlers Nick Mears and Blake Weiman, and outfielder Jared Oliva.

Pirates Outright Three Pitchers

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Pirates pitchers Montana DuRapau, Williams Jerez and Luis Escobar have all cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Indianapolis, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic tweets. The three were designated for assignment a week ago. Nobody from this group has been outrighted in the past, nor do they have enough service time to opt for free agency, so they’re all slated to remain with the Pirates.

Among the trio, the 27-year-old DuRapau was the busiest at the major league level in 2019. He totaled 14 appearances and 17 1/3 innings, during which opposing hitters lit him up for 18 earned runs on 27 hits, four home runs and nine walks (against 22 strikeouts).

Jerez, also 27 and the lone left-hander of the troika, divided the season between the Pirates and Giants, with whom he combined to surrender five earned runs on 12 hits, nine walks and nine strikeouts in 10 1/3 innings. He was much more successful in 56 Triple-A frames, logging a 3.86 ERA/4.03 FIP with 9.8 K/9 against 2.57 BB/9.

Escobar, 23, got his first taste of the majors this past season, though he struggled in 5 2/3 frames, yielding five earned on 10 hits and four walks, and striking out just two hitters. Escobar fared better (albeit not great) at the minors’ highest level in 2019, as he managed a 4.09 ERA/5.06 FIP with 9.33 K/9 and 5.24 BB/9 across 55 innings.

Pirates Designate Four Players For Assignment, Set 40-Man Roster

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The Pirates set their roster in advance of the 2019 Rule 5 Draft tonight, selecting the contracts of right-handers Blake Cederlind and Cody Ponce as well as infielders Ke’Bryan Hayes, Will Craig and Oneil Cruz. In a corresponding series of moves, the Pirates have designated lefty Williams Jerez and right-handers Dario Agrazal, Montana DuRapau and Luis Escobar for assignment.

Of the four players designated for assignment, Agrazal had the largest workload with the Pirates in 2019, pitching 73 1/3 innings but struggling to a 4.91 ERA, 5.0 K/9, 2.2 BB/9 and a 39.9 percent grounder rate. Each of the other three posted an ERA north of 7.00, though Escobar and Jerez each threw fewer than six innings. The 27-year-old DuRapau, meanwhile, enjoyed an outstanding season in Triple-A but allowed 18 runs in 17 1/3 innings at the MLB level.

Hayes, 23 in January, is fresh off a .265/.336/.415 season and against much older competition in Triple-A. Regarded as one of baseball’s premier defensive prospects, Hayes is considered to be among the top farmhands not just in the Pirates’ system but in the entire game.

Cruz, too, has generated some top 100 fanfare and just put the finishing touches on a huge but shortened season, hitting a combined .298/.356/.475 in 73 games. The towering 6’7″ Cruz, acquired in the 2017 trade that sent Tony Watson to the Dodgers, received 80 grades in arm strength and raw power from Eric Longenhagen and Kiley McDaniel of FanGraphs on their midseason rankings, where he checked in at No. 34 in MLB.

Ponce, acquired from the Brewers in this summer’s Jordan Lyles swap, averaged nearly 10 strikeouts per inning out of the bullpen. Cederlind, also 23, had a solid year out of the ’pen and reached the Triple-A level for the first time. Craig had a down season in Triple-A but has long been considered to be among the top 15 prospects in the Pittsburgh farm and will give them some near-term corner infield depth.

Players Added To 40-Man Roster: National League

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We’re going to see a whole lot of players added to 40-man rosters in advance of tonight’s deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 draft. We will use this post to track those contract selections from National League teams that are not otherwise covered on the site.

NL West

  • The Dodgers announced that they’ve selected the contracts of right-hander Mitchell White, infielder/outfielder Zach McKinstry and outfielder DJ Peters. Both White and Peters are considered to be among the club’s top 15 prospects. McKinstry isn’t generally ranked inside L.A.’s top 30, but the 24-year-old had a big season between Double-A and Triple-A in 2019 while appearing at six defensive positions (shortstop, second base, third base and all three outfield slots).
  • The Diamondbacks announced that they’ve selected the contracts of right-handers Taylor Widener and Riley Smith as well as the contracts of infielders Andy Young and Wyatt Mathisen. Widener, 24, was one of the organization’s best pitching prospects coming into the season but was blown up for an eye-popping 8.10 ERA in 100 innings. He’s only a year removed from 137 1/3 innings of 2.75 ERA ball and an 11.5 K/9 mark in Double-A, however. Smith, 24, was sharp in Double-A before struggling in Triple-A — like many pitching prospects throughout the league (and with the D-backs in particular). Young, acquired in the Paul Goldschmidt trade last winter, hit 29 homers while playing three infield positions between Double-A and Triple-A. Mathisen, 26 in December, hit .283/.403/.601 in 345 Triple-A plate appearances.
  • The Giants, surprisingly, did not add anyone to their 40-man roster prior to tonight’s deadline.
  • The Rockies selected the contracts of infielder Tyler Nevin, left-hander Ben Bowden and right-handers Ashton Goudeau and Antonio Santos (Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post first reported the news on Twitter). Those four moves will fill the team’s 40-man roster. Of the four, Bowden and Nevin draw the most fanfare. Nevin, the No. 38 pick in the 2015 draft and son of former MLB slugger Phil Nevin, posted deceptively solid numbers in an extremely pitcher-friendly Double-A environment in 2019 (.251/.345/.399 — good for a 122 wRC+). Bowden, a second-round pick in ’16, posted gaudy strikeout numbers but struggled in Triple-A after dominating in Double-A in 2019.
  • The Padres selected outfielder Jorge Ona’s contract and designated outfielder Nick Martini for assignment, as outlined here.

NL Central

  • The Cardinals announced the additions of Jake Woodford, Elehuris Montero and Alvaro Seijas while designating righty Dominic Leone for assignment (as detailed here at greater length).
  • Outfielder Corey Ray and right-hander J.P. Feyereisen will head onto the Brewers 40-man, per Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (via Twitter). It’s not yet known if the team will make further roster additions, but it would have five additional spots to work with to do so. Ray was the fifth overall pick in the 2016 draft but is coming off of a rough season. Feyereisen, who was added in a quiet September swap, will have a chance to challenge for MLB relief opportunities. Milwaukee also added infielder Mark Mathias to the 40-man roster after acquiring him in a trade with the Indians tonight.
  • The Cubs announced that they’ve added catcher Miguel Amaya, infielder Zack Short and right-handers Tyson Miller and Manuel Rodriguez to the 40-man roster. Amaya is the most highly regarded of the bunch, ranking second among Chicago farmhands and drawing some top 100 consideration at MLB.com.
  • Four additions to the 40-man were announced by the Reds, who have selected the contracts of catcher Tyler Stephenson and right-handers Tony Santillan, Ryan Hendrix and Tejay Antone. All four rank within the club’s top 30 at MLB.com, headlined by Santillan at No. 4 and ranging all the way to Antone at No. 30. Santillan thrived in a brief Double-A debut in 2018 but struggled there in a larger 2019 sample (4.84 ERA, 8.1 K/9, 4.8 BB/9 in 102 1/3 innings). He’s still just 22, though, and is regarded as a potential big league starter. Stephenson is a former first-round pick who hit well in a highly pitcher-friendly Double-A setting (.285/.372/.410; 130 wRC+). Hendrix posted big strikeout numbers as a reliever in 2019, while Antone displayed sharp ground-ball skills as a starter and reached Triple-A for the first time.
  • The Pirates added prospects Ke’Bryan Hayes, Oneil Cruz, Will Craig, Blake Cederlind and Cody Ponce to the 40-man roster while also designating four pitchers for assignment (as explored in greater length here). Lefty Williams Jerez and right-handers Dario Agrazal, Montana DuRapau and Luis Escobar were cut loose.

NL East

Pirates Claim Williams Jerez

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The Pirates have claimed southpaw Williams Jerez off waivers from the Giants, per a club announcement. Righty Kyle Crick — another former Giant who was injured recently in memorable fashion — was moved to the 60-day injured list to create roster space.

Jerez had been designated for assignment after a brief MLB showing with the San Francisco club, during which he walked six hitters over six innings. He had earned the promotion with a promising showing at the Triple-A level. In 56 innings on the year, Jerez carried a 3.86 ERA with 9.8 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9. He limited left-handed hitters to a paltry .174/.260/.314 collective batting line.

The Bucs will utilize Jerez in the majors late in 2019, the team has announced. He’ll have an opportunity to stake a claim to holding a 40-man spot throughout the winter. Ironically, he’ll also join Chris Stratton in Pittsburgh after being dealt for him late in Spring Training, as Jeff Fletcher of the Southern California News Group notes on Twitter.

Giants Designate Williams Jerez

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The Giants have designated lefty Williams Jerez, per a club announcement. That opens a roster space for the return of veteran hurler Johnny Cueto, who’ll start tonight after working back from Tommy John surgery.

The San Francisco organization carried Jerez on the 40-man all year long after picking him up in a late-spring trade. The 27-year-old permitted only a pair of earned runs in his six MLB innings, but allowed six free passes while striking out four.

Otherwise, Jerez turned in solid numbers at Triple-A this year, working to a 3.86 ERA with 9.8 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9 over 56 frames. He was especially effective against opposing lefties, holding them to a .574 OPS.

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